Dr. Lara Surles specializes in family medicine and geriatrics (elderly care). Dr. Surles is affiliated with Vidant Health. She accepts Medicare insurance. She graduated from East Carolina University, The Brody School of Medicine. For her residency, Dr. Surles trained at the University Health Systems, Pitt County Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Mary Rudyk works as a general internist and geriatrician in Wilmington, NC. Dr. Rudyk has received a 3.0 out of 5 star rating by her patients. She is professionally affiliated with New Hanover Regional Medical Center. She is in-network for Medicare insurance. Dr. Rudyk graduated from McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences and then she performed her residency at Toronto Western Hospital and a hospital affiliated with McMaster University.

Dr. Midesha Pillay's specialties are family medicine and geriatrics (elderly care). She is conversant in Spanish. She is affiliated with New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Dr. Pillay obtained her medical school training at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and performed her residency at a hospital affiliated with East Carolina University. Dr. Pillay has received the distinction of Geriatric Award, Brody School of Medicine Geriatric Division.

Dr. Mark Darrow is a physician who specializes in family medicine and geriatrics (elderly care). He accepts Medicare insurance. He studied medicine at Stony Brook University Medical Center, School of Medicine.

Dr. Mark Williams works as an internist and geriatrician in Wilmington, NC. Clinical interests for Dr. Williams include memory loss. Dr. Williams is affiliated with New Hanover Regional Medical Center. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and then went on to complete his residency at North Carolina Memorial Hospital. Dr. Williams is in-network for Medicare insurance.

Dr. Stephen Young's medical specialty is adult critical care, hospice and palliative medicine (end-of-life care and serious illness), and geriatrics (elderly care). Before completing his residency at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Dr. Young attended medical school at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is in-network for Medicare insurance.

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What is Geriatrics?

Geriatrics is the subspecialty of internal medicine that provides primary care to older adults. Physical health tends to decline with age, and geriatricians work to manage such age-related concerns as chronic illness, frailty, multiple medications, and declining mental health to keep seniors as active and independent as possible.

Some of the most common concerns seen by a geriatrician include:

Mobility issues, including the need for canes and walkers, as well as preventing falls

Osteoporosis, a weakening of the bones, which affects as many as a quarter of all men and half of all women over fifty

Loss of hearing or vision

Incontinence, or the inability to control one’s bladder

Memory loss, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

A geriatrician may also provide their patients with comprehensive care that includes checking on their social health. Seniors are at increased risk for poverty, loneliness, abuse, and injuries in the home. As part of their health care, a geriatrician may inquire about family support, living conditions, or the ability of a patient to perform daily self-care tasks.

In some cases, a geriatrician may serve as an advisor to other physicians on a specific case or condition. However, most of the time geriatrics is a primary care specialty, and geriatricians provide routine health care to the older patients they work with.